Just a Guy and a Gate to the Multiverse - Chapter 34 (Patreon)

Chapter 34: Final Boss Fight

What a magnificent sight—four living dragons once again soaring through the skies above Alagaësia.

Glaedr was the oldest and largest of the four, and his golden scales glittered beneath the sun. The golden-colored automail attached to his body made him appear even more imposing and fierce as Oromis rode upon his back.

Beside him flew Saphira, the second largest of the dragons, although she was still considerably smaller than Glaedr. That was hardly surprising, considering the centuries of difference between their ages.

Her scales and eyes resembled brilliant sapphires, while her body was more toned and streamlined than Glaedr’s. Eragon sat upon her back, dressed in his princely armor.

Slightly behind them flew Thorn, whose scales sparkled with a deep ruby color. Although his magically accelerated growth had made him only slightly smaller than Saphira, despite being almost a year younger, his body was stockier and bulkier, with more pronounced muscles.

His Rider, Murtagh, sat upon his back. It seemed that both of them had been pardoned, or at least released, after Galbatorix’s death. Apparently, he had also decided to join them in confronting the final boss.

Finally, there was the emerald-green dragon, the smallest and youngest of the four. He had hatched from the last of the three eggs that had been in Galbatorix’s possession, which I had deliberately left behind for them to find.

Well, to be honest, I had tested whether the egg would hatch for me first. Unfortunately, I hadn’t been destined to become its Rider, and I certainly wasn’t going to force a bond through Magic like Galbatorix had after his first dragon died.

I wasn’t desperate to obtain a dragon. While having one would undoubtedly be cool, it would also be incredibly inconvenient because the bond between a dragon and its Rider was extremely close. It would want to follow me everywhere, and traveling with a dragon would make it rather difficult to remain unnoticed.

It was probably better that the egg hadn’t hatched for me and had instead chosen its destined Rider, just as it had in the books.

The young dragon was another male named Fírnen, and his Rider was Princess Arya. She hadn’t become Queen of the Elves because her mother was still alive, thanks to me dealing with Galbatorix early and bringing the war to a far easier conclusion than expected.

In the end, she had become a Dragon Rider as well. That was good news for Eragon because, without being bound by her duties as Queen of the Elves, she would be free to accompany him and help rebuild their Order.

I could already see the romance developing.

“They seem awfully determined,” I mused as I calmly watched them from the golden throne my ass was currently polishing. “Good, because I wouldn’t want it any other way.”

Once the four dragons landed, I couldn’t help but grin as they stared down at me with serious expressions. Thorn and Glaedr were openly growling, but I refused to let them intimidate me.

“Welcome to my humble throne room!” I greeted them, raising my hands dramatically as the wind stirred the sand around me.

“This is a desert,” Eragon commented dryly.

“But it has a throne in it, which makes it a throne room,” I countered, not particularly concerned with his objection. A final boss needed an impressive throne room, after all.

“You truly haven’t changed, Student,” Oromis said with a sigh as he shook his head.

“Does that matter? Where are they, thief?” Murtagh demanded, ignoring the banter as he glared at me.

“Where are who, exactly?”

“The Eldunarí you took from Galbatorix,” Eragon calmly clarified before Murtagh could continue.

“Ah, those Eldunarí. Well, Eragon, didn’t you learn some fancy Spell from the Eldunarí inside the Vault of Souls? Who says I couldn’t learn the same Spell?”

This time, a voice spoke directly into our minds.

“So, you truly know about us. How is that even possible? I assume you also met the hermit?”

“You must be Umaroth! It’s a pleasure to meet you. As Eragon and Oromis have probably already told you, I simply know a great many things. I didn’t merely meet the hermit, either. Eragon met him as well, by the way, while I actually studied under him,” I replied casually while sitting comfortably upon my throne.

“So that insane madman truly was the hermit?” Eragon asked in surprise. “I suspected as much, but I was never completely certain.”

I chuckled. “Yep. Anyway, I hope you won’t forget about the eggs still hidden inside the Vault of Souls, since your memories of its contents were erased after you left. It would be unfortunate if someone else stole them.”

“What? You!” Umaroth shouted inside my mind as he realized that my words made sense. Even the Eldunarí had allowed their memories to be erased in case Galbatorix won, ensuring that the dragons could rebuild their race in the distant future after the tyrant eventually died. “Are you planning to steal them?”

“Not really. If I wanted a dragon of my own, I could have simply taken young Fírnen when I plundered Galbatorix’s Treasury and forced a bond with him. With so many Eldunarí supporting me, it would have been easy. Instead, I kept him safe until Galbatorix was dead and then left him there for you to find. Congratulations, by the way, Arya! I knew he would choose you,” I added with a smile directed at the Elven Princess.

“Thank you,” she replied hesitantly, clearly uncertain about what was going to happen next.

“Then why are you doing this?” Eragon asked with a helpless sigh. “You swore in the Ancient Language that you wouldn’t harm the people of Alagaësia and that you had no intention of ruling them!”

I tilted my head. “Yes, and who exactly am I harming or ruling?”

“Then give them back!” Murtagh had finally run out of patience. He drew his sword and rushed toward me.

At the same time, I summoned the Rider Sword from my Pocket Dimension that felt most comfortable in my hand. It was a beautiful blue blade, nearly the same shade as Saphira’s scales, named Undbitr.

I easily blocked Murtagh’s strike, my natural strength already one or two levels above his.

If I ranked all of us by physical strength, Murtagh was the weakest, standing roughly two levels below me even after Galbatorix had permanently enhanced him with Magic. Eragon and Arya possessed the strength of peak elves, placing them around one level below me.

Oromis should have been somewhere between them and me, but his injuries severely limited him. He would likely struggle to defeat Murtagh because he couldn’t maintain his full strength for long.

“Then make me,” I said with a fierce grin as the red blade of Zar’roc clashed against the blue blade of Undbitr.

Skill-wise, Murtagh and I seemed to be on a similar level, but my superior physical Stats gave me a clear advantage. It didn’t take long for me to overpower him.

“Ah, once again, Undbitr triumphs over Zar’roc,” I laughed as I forced Murtagh to the ground.

“It’s Ithring now,” Murtagh gritted out as he climbed back to his feet. I hadn’t bothered to follow up on my attack.

Still, the clash had been strangely poetic. Undbitr had once belonged to Brom, while Zar’roc—or Ithring, as it was now called—had belonged to Morzan. They were the blades of Eragon’s and Murtagh’s fathers, respectively, and both men had once been Oromis’s students. One had become a hero, while the other had become a traitor.

“So that truly is Brom’s old blade. Galbatorix really did have it,” Oromis said with a sigh as he carefully studied the weapon. His expression was unreadable, but I could see the nostalgia and sadness within his eyes.

“It is, Teacher. I have more than a thousand of them now, but Brom’s sword suits my fighting style the best,” I confirmed.

Eragon looked at the sword that had once belonged to his father with sadness before asking, “What are you planning to do with so many Rider Swords? More importantly, why do you want the Eldunarí?”

“They’re my loot,” I replied with a shrug. “If you want them, you’ll have to trade for them. Besides, who wouldn’t want a shit ton of power when it was simply lying around, waiting to be taken?”

Oromis actually choked. “Lying around, waiting to be taken?”

Oh, I had actually made my teacher lose his composure for a moment.

“Well, it was lying around for me. Anyone else would have died trying to take it,” I clarified before rising from my throne. “Anyway, let’s get this started! It’s time for your final battle, so come at me together!”

“Are you really going to do—” Eragon began, but I interrupted him by throwing one of the swords from my Pocket Space at him, forcing him to dodge.

“Enough complaining! It’s time to fight!” I laughed as I turned toward Murtagh again and kicked him to the ground.

This time, however, Eragon joined the fight immediately after dodging my attack and began pressuring me.

It didn’t take long for Murtagh and Arya to join him. Fighting three opponents at once was difficult, especially since I was relying solely on my swordsmanship. My skill was roughly equal to theirs, and although I was stronger, the difference wasn’t large enough to give me a decisive advantage.

I could overpower Murtagh in a one-on-one fight, but Arya and Eragon were another matter. Defeating either of them would take much longer, especially when all three were constantly covering for one another.

Then I felt hundreds of minds assaulting my own. Oromis had joined the battle from the rear, placing immense mental pressure on me alongside Umaroth and the other Eldunarí from the Vault.

However, I wasn’t alone either. With the Philosopher’s Stone and the Eldunarí I had stolen from Galbatorix supporting me, I resisted their mental assault and kept my former teacher occupied while focusing most of my attention on the three young Dragon Riders.

My sword flashed through the air as it repeatedly clashed against their blades. Thanks to my Accelerated Perception Sub-Skill, I could keep up with three different opponents attacking me simultaneously.

“Is that all you’ve got?” I asked with a wide grin as I parried one of Eragon’s strikes, dodged another from Arya, and kicked Murtagh to the ground yet again.

“Do you truly want to fight all of us?” Eragon asked with a grim expression as I went on the offensive, taking advantage of the opening created by Murtagh’s fall.

“Of course!”

“Then so be it.” At Eragon’s confirmation, the four dragons, who had merely been watching until then, roared and launched themselves into the air.

Before they could properly take off, I cast a Spell in the Ancient Language.

“Dragons will experience increased gravity and greater air density, keeping them on the ground until I cancel the Spell!”

I felt the Spell draining my energy, but the Eldunarí possessed more than enough power to sustain it. The four dragons immediately crashed back onto the ground.

To my surprise, Murtagh was the one who reacted. He shouted something I couldn’t understand, and an instant later, I felt my Spell disappear.

That caught me completely off guard.

When I tried casting it again, nothing happened. In fact, none of the Spells I attempted to cast in the Ancient Language had any effect.

“Well, isn’t that a surprise? I thought Galbatorix hadn’t discovered the Name of Names before he died,” I mused while maintaining my defense.

“He didn’t, but I continued his search!” Murtagh laughed as he fired a bolt of red energy toward me, which I deflected with my sword.

Fortunately, my Pocket Space and Accelerated Perception were parts of my Skills and no longer depended on Spells from the Ancient Language. That allowed me to continue keeping up with my opponents.

It was also fortunate that I had anchored my Wards to physical objects, or I would have been in serious danger.

Without those protective Wards, Oromis could have used one of the Words of Death to kill me the moment I left even the slightest opening in my mental defenses. However, that protection would only last until Murtagh realized how my Wards worked.

“I see. Well, you’ve left me no choice but to get serious. You do remember that I can use Magic without the Ancient Language, don’t you?” I reminded them before releasing a blast of kinetic energy in every direction.

The attack sent them flying and created some much-needed space around me.

In the next instant, I vanished from their sight and reappeared behind Murtagh. He was now the greatest threat because he had confirmed that he knew the Name of Names and was using it to suppress my Ancient Language Magic.

As soon as I landed a powerful blow against his head—far too fast for any of them to react—I knocked him unconscious and immediately felt my ability to use Magic return.

However, I had already vanished again. Teleportation was such an amazing Skill.

This time, it was Eragon’s turn. I channeled instinctive Magic through my body, temporarily pushing myself beyond its natural limits as I continued fighting him. It wasn’t a permanent enhancement, but the boost would last as long as I had enough energy to sustain it, placing an enormous amount of pressure on him.

It didn’t help that I was constantly teleporting around and positioning Eragon between Arya and me, preventing her from properly assisting him. It was a useful trick when fighting multiple opponents.

Before long, I knocked Eragon unconscious and sent him crashing to the ground, leaving Arya as my only remaining physical opponent. With my temporary enhancement, superior natural strength, equal level of skill, and ability to teleport, she stood no chance. I quickly disarmed her and pointed my sword at her throat.

“You lost, Princess Arya. I would prefer not to knock you unconscious as well,” I said politely while she glared at me.

That was when Oromis, who had stopped attacking my mind some time ago, finally spoke.

“Isn’t that enough? You received your final training session, so there is no need to take this any further.”

I released a sigh and lowered my sword, confusing Arya, who continued watching me warily.

“As expected, you saw right through me, Master. No wonder the dragons never seriously attempted to join the fight.”

“It was rather obvious, and you always said that you came here to train and learn,” Oromis replied with a chuckle. “As far as I can tell, your interest lies primarily in fighting humanoid opponents rather than dragons. Still, I am impressed. I didn’t believe it was possible for a person to teleport under their own power.”

“Let’s just say it’s part of my unique Skill Set. I’m not sure whether anyone else could replicate it.”

“You can accomplish it, so there should be a wa—”

“Excuse me, but could one of you explain what exactly is going on?” Arya interrupted us.

I blinked at her. “Oh, I wanted a serious fight that would push me to my limits, so I set up this entire situation. Dragon Riders are among the strongest opponents in the world because of their Bonds, which made all of you perfect for this little performance.”

“So all of this was merely another training exercise you devised?”

“Pretty much,” I replied with a shrug.

“What about the Eldunarí and the Rider Swords? Are you simply going to return them?” she continued, refusing to lower her guard.

“Yes. The Eldunarí are inside the mountain behind us, within Du Fells Nángoröth, where the wild dragons stored their Eldunarí before the Dragon War and the formation of the Dragon Riders. I don’t have any real use for them.”

My Philosopher’s Stone already produced more than enough energy for my needs, and I had no intention of dragging thousands of broken and abused dragon minds into another universe.

I wasn’t evil.

“Ah, you paid attention during my history lessons,” Oromis said with an understanding nod. “The mountain is also close enough for you to draw upon their power during the battle. What about the Rider Swords? We will need them to reestablish the Rider Order. As you know, Rhunön swore that she would never forge another blade with her own hands, and brightsteel has become exceedingly rare.”

“Hmm, I still need a sword for myself, but I was actually aiming for the coolest-looking one.”

Arya stared at me in disbelief. “The coolest-looking one?”

“Islingr, or Vrangr, as Galbatorix called it. It was the only sword I didn’t manage to obtain because the madman was using it himself,” I explained with a grin. “Therefore, I’ll trade all the other Rider Swords for Vrael’s blade.”

Oromis considered my offer for a moment before nodding. “I believe that arrangement is acceptable. I also have a message for you. King Hrothgar has extended an invitation for you to visit Farthen Dûr. He still wishes to thank you for saving his life, and I believe you wanted to see their legendary city for yourself.”

“Of course I accept his invitation!”

[ End of the Chapter ]